Road Chatter

ROAD CHATTER

Brought to you by: ENDLESSROAD in Historic Savage Mill, 8600 Foundry Street, Savage, MD 20763 Store: 301-497-0369 / FAX: 301-497-3690 / snipped-for-privacy@aol.com """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" IN THIS ISSUE

• Car-Guy Trivia Questions

• Formula One

• Bits and Pieces

• Recent Receipts

• Car-Guy Trivia Answers ======================= **====================== Car-Guy Trivia (answers are later in this email)

1) Cadillac's slogan is 'The Standard Of Excellence'. Where did that originate?

2) What was the very last year for the Chevy engine made famous by The Beach Boys, the 409? A 1963 B 1964 C 1965 D 1966

3) With Indy right around the corner, this is the only Indy question we have. Who was the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500?

4) Since this is the 40th anniversary of the Mustang, what does Mach 1 mean?

5) What three colors are on the Western German flag, and why is this a Car Guy Question?

--- Re-Runs --- These last three questions are from over a year ago. If you remember them from before, consider this a memory test.

6) It seems the path to F1 these days starts in Karts. It also helps if you are Brazilian. But previously, many F1 pilots started on motorcycles. We came up with seven F1 drivers who started on motorcycles. How many can you name?

7) What do the initials AC stand for in AC spark plugs?

8) Henry Ford made his mark on the automobile business: A - What did Henry do with the soybean in 1941? B - What did Henry describe as the worst thing that ever struck the Earth? C - Henry Ford was involved with three companies at the beginning of his automotive career. The first folded, and the third became the Ford Motor Company that we know now. What happened to the second? D - Over what issue did Henry Ford successfully fight a famous court battle? E - In the last Chatter, we mentioned Henry saying customers could buy a Model T in any color they wanted, as long as it was black. And more recently, the DeLorean only came with its stainless steel body. What other very popular American car made its debut in one color scheme? I don't mean a model of a car, like the first Plymouth Fury that only came in beige.

======================= **====================== Formula One

The Powers That Be are shaking up F1 again. These are only some of the rule changes being considered: Spec Tires, only one tire manufacturer Engine Downsize, going from a 3.0 liter ten cylinder to a 2.4 liter eight cylinder Dropping most or all Driver's Aids (Traction control, etc.) Manual Shift, no more semi-automatic transmissions Shared Electronic Boxes, all teams will have the same basic electronics

There are cries that this will be the end of F1, dumbing down cars, slowing them down to a crawl, taking out all of the high tech paraphernalia that makes Formula One so. well so high tech!

No, it won't. Racing organizations have been trying to reduce speed and costs for years. They have added kinks in tracks to slow the longest, fastest straights. They have taken away ground effects, reduced wing sizes, narrowed tires, put grooves in tires, reduced air intakes, reduced engine sizes, all to reduce speed. And within a year or two, the cars were regularly breaking track records again. The proposed rule changes will not all go through, and, even if they did, it would NOT turn F1 into NASCAR, as some have implied. F1 must reduce the cost of competing before the organization implodes from being the most expensive sport in the world. And current speeds are making it almost impossible to pass. Personally, I don't want all races to be won in the pits. Plus taking away some of the electronics will put more attention on the drivers again. ....

2004 Formula One Season:

May 23 Monaco May 30 Europe June 13 Canada June 20 Indianapolis July 04 France July 11 Great Britain July 25 Germany August 15 Hungary, Hungaroring August 29 Belgium, Spa Sept 12 Italy, Monza Sept 26 China Oct 10 Japan, Suzuka Oct 24 Brazil

======================= ** ======================= Bits and Pieces

You may have noticed that we have expanded our cap section. We now have over twenty- five styles of caps. We not only have the European cars, but we now have a full line of American iron. This month, we are giving two free pins with every cap so you can give it a personality of your own.

By the way, we have all heard FORD means Fix Or Replace Daily. Well, we have caps now that say FORD First On Race Day. Nice to hear the other side of the story. .... Many of you know Detour Dave from here at the shop, and many of you found our shop from reading about us on Dave's web. Now, Diecast Exchange, a Diecast Message Board, has interviewed Dave. You can read it at this address. By the way, the red Chevelle convertible in the article is a picture Dave took of the Lane/Exact Detail that he got from Endless Road.

.... We went to Sebring again this year, one of our favorite tracks. The Audi prototypes won of course; the Corvette C5-R won its class. But the sights and sounds are why I go, and Oh what beautiful sounds! I could wander through the paddock for hours. The spectator parking lots often have some great cars that you usually only see fleetingly as they pass you on the highway. The spectators are a treat themselves, ranging from Porsche guys in well-pressed slacks to wild-eyed crazies in an old sedan with the top cut off and a rickety scaffold sticking up out of the back seat.

======================= **====================== Here are highlights of a few things we have available: All models are 1:18 unless otherwise stated.

1320 Inc. 1:24 Prudhome Wynn's Winder

Auto Art

2001 Mustangs in white, black, and blue Porsche 917 #2

Brumm

1:43 Schumacher Ferrari F1

Carousel Lotus 38 1965 Indy Winner Jimmy Clark. The first rear-engine car to win Indy. Gurney Eagle 1967 GP Belgium Winner. The only car to be designed and driven to an F1 win by an American.

CMC

1939 Auto Union Type C 1939 Auto Union Type C Engine

GMP

1:24 1970 Pontiac GTO orange 1:24 1987 Buick GNX black 3009 1997 All Sport #11 Trans Am Mustang 1987 Grand National Tweaked Buick

Highway 61

1963 Pontiac Super Duty Arnie Beswick 1974 Chevy Van red or black 1969 Chevy Pickup

Kyosho Ferrari 365 GBT/4 red Ferrari 365 GBT/4 black

Lane - Exact Detail

503 1965 El Camino black HOT ROD Magazine / Edelbrock 1967 Camaro

Motorbox Corvette Stingray coupe

You remember the Trans Am Mustang that was built in cooperation with Replicarz, GMP, and Super Cars. We were lucky enough to get some at half price of these for our Open House. We still have just a few of the George Follmer and Parnelli Jones versions left. And they are still at half price!

Revell Audi TT coupe Mercedes 220 SE

1:12 1958 Corvette red 1969 Targa top Porsche 914/4, in yellow and in blue The first 1:18 Porsche 914

Ricko Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 2000 MGA roadster

1955 Mercedes Typ 300C Cabriolet

Road Signature (Yat Ming) A good entry-level line of models with good finish and plenty of detail.

92588 Fiero 92608 Jaguar E Type Series 3 1971 Buick Riviera 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser 1959 Buick Electra 92498 Corvair Monza 92468 MG TC

======================= **====================== Car-Guy Trivia Answers

1) In 1908, a Cadillac dealer in England organized a test to demonstrate their quality through interchangeable parts. (No big deal now, but very difficult to achieve then.) Three cars were disassembled, their parts were mixed, and 89 parts at random were changed for spares. The cars were then re-assembled and driven 500 miles at Brooklands, a famous track in England. In 1909, the prestigious Dewar Trophy was awarded for the feat. Incidentally, no other manufacturer took up the challenge of this task. (Thanks to our friend, Jeff, for this one.)

2) The famous Chevy 409 engine was last available in: C - 1965

3) Janet Guthrie was the first woman to race in the Indianapolis 500. (Now, Larry, if you had sent this one in, you could have received 10% off of your next Carousel.)

4) Mach 1 is the speed of sound at sea level. You knew that didn't you.

5) The three colors of the West German flag are black, red, and gold. The Audi factory prototype cars are silver, then each of the three cars runs one of these three colors on its rear wing and around the cockpit to make the cars discernable from each other.

--- Re-Runs ---

6) The F1 drivers that started with motorcycles are: Nuvolari Varzi Rosemeyer Antonio Ascari Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood John Surtees Bernie Ecklestone (Technically, he was an F1 driver; he started a race with Connought but didn't finish.) (Thanks to our friend, Jeff, for most of these names.)

7) The initials in AC spark plugs stand for Albert Champion. Mr. Champion invented the porcelain spark plugs and made his fortune from Champion Spark Plugs. Billy Durant (of General Motors fame) wanted his own spark plug company and hired Champion. The Champion Company would not allow the use of the name Champion, hence the initials. (Thanks to our friend, Jeff, for this one, too.)

8) A - Henry Ford formed the body of an experimental car out of soybean. (Thanks to Trivial Pursuit Genus IV.) B - Henry said that the worse thing that ever struck the Earth was labor unions. (Thanks to Trivial Pursuit Genus IV for this one, too.) C - After Henry Ford left the second automobile company he was with, it was re-organized and became Cadillac. (Thanks to our friend, Jeff, for this one) D - Henry Ford disputed and won against the Seldon patents, which were held by a Connecticut lawyer. They claimed to cover all aspects of the automobile. Previously, manufacturers had paid Seldon a royalty. (Thanks to, that's right, Jeff again.) E - The first-year Corvette in 1953 was only available in Polo white with Sportsman red interior. I am sure every Vette guy knew that one. (Thanks to Monica for reminding me of the DeLorean.)

======================= **======================

We try to choose these trivia questions from several groups and still be interesting. This month, we have stainless steel cars, soybean cars, a lady driver, the speed of sound, the German flag, old bikers, Henry Ford and The Beach Boys. Not too bad.